Everyday of Freedom is an Act of Faith for my writings ============> http://robertoscaruffi.blogspot.com for something on religions ===> http://scaruffi1.blogspot.com
EXPLORATION & NUCLEAR FUEL
London to get nuclear-powered taxis
The company which makes London's black cabs is to develop an electric-powered version, which it is promoting as a "zero-emission urban taxi" designed for congested urban areas. About one third of London's baseload electricity comes from nuclear.
The Tangled Truth
Benny Morris, The New Republic Published: Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Army of Shadows: Palestinian Collaboration with Zionism, 1917-1948
http://www.tnr.com/story_print.html?id=0e100478-298c-438c-a994-e1800474ad19
http://www.tnr.com/booksarts/story.html?id=0e100478-298c-438c-a994-e1800474ad19
Pékin admet avoir tué un insurgé tibétain
par RFI
Article publié le 30/04/2008 Dernière mise à jour le 30/04/2008 à 13:46 TU
La police a tué par balle un présumé « insurgé » tibétain dans le nord-ouest de la Chine, a indiqué mercredi la presse officielle chinoise. C'est la première fois que les autorités reconnaissent officiellement avoir tué un manifestant depuis les récents troubles. Un policier a également été tué.
Zimbabwe's president continues to terrorize his opponents while withholding the results of the election he lost.
(The Washington Post)
Siphoning Off Corn to Fuel Our Cars
As farmers feed ethanol plants, a costly link is forged between food and oil.
(By Steven Mufson, The Washington Post)
Report Targets Costs Of Factory Farming
Factory farming takes a big, hidden toll on human health and the environment, is undermining rural America's economic stability and fails to provide the humane treatment of livestock increasingly demanded by American consumers, concludes an independent, 2 1/2 -year analysis that calls for major...
(By Rick Weiss, The Washington Post)
Dan Froomkin's White House Watch
How far will Vice President Cheney go to shield himself and his office from public scrutiny?
INDUSTRY TALK
Tusinia signs up for French nuclear cooperation
Tunisia has become the latest country to sign a nuclear cooperation deal with France. The 20-year deal, signed by the countries' presidents, Zine al Abidine Ben Ali and Nicolas Sarkozy, covers training of engineers and the exchange of nuclear expertise, and is similar to recent deals between France and Algeria, Libya and Morocco.
IRANIAN PRESIDENT TOURS ASIAN COUNTRIES
President Mahmud Ahmadinejad stopped in Pakistan on April 28 where he held brief but "very cordial and useful meetings" with President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, IRNA reported. Musharraf and Ahmadinejad discussed boosting trade and finalizing an agreement on a natural-gas pipeline from Iran to Pakistan. Later the same day in Colombo, Ahmadinejad signed five agreements with Sri Lanka, including on helping to develop an oil refinery there, and on financing the construction of a dam and hydroelectric power plant, IRNA reported. VS
From Chief Prosecutor To Critic at Guantanamo
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, April 28
The Defense Department's former chief prosecutor for terrorism cases appeared Monday at the controversial U.S. detention facility here to argue on behalf of an accused terrorist that the military justice system has been corrupted by politics and inappropriate inf...
(By Josh White, The Washington Post)
«La Chine, l'Inde, le Brésil et la Russie vont dominer le monde»
VIDÉO - L'expert en géopolitique Jean-François Susbielle, auteur des «Royaumes combattants», a répondu à vos questions sur le nouvel équilibre du monde. Jusqu'où ira la Chine ? La France est-elle vouée au déclin ? Va-t-on vers une nouvelle guerre mondiale ?
Chinese Students in U.S. Fight View of Their Home
By SHAILA DEWAN
Chinese students in the U.S. are confronting an image of their homeland they neither recognize nor appreciate.
Old Bailey en ligne
NOUVELOBS.COM 28.04.2008 15:26
Les archives de la Cour criminelle centrale en Angleterre, communément appelée Old Bailey, sont désormais accessibles sur internet. Le détail des procès criminels sur la période allant de 1674 à 1913 peuvent ainsi être consultés par tous, ils constituent une source unique d’information aussi bien pour les sociologues que pour les juristes.
Joel Achenbach
What Does a President Really Do All Day?
It's a simple and deceptively tricky question.
The Pentagon's Puppets
The Bush administration has covertly tried to influence public opinion in its favor throughout the Iraq war, planting stories in Iraqi newspapers and disseminating misleading polls. Last week, The New York Times reported that the Pentagon has been using more than 75 "military analysts" as "puppets," revealing one of the most extensive attempts at domestic propaganda in this war. These retired military officials, many of whom have contracting business with the government, have pushed the Bush administration's talking points but without revealing their contracts with the Pentagon. In a disturbing tit-for-tat, analysts admitted that they were reluctant to buck the Bush administration out of fear that they might lose access to future briefings and information. "Our military services have an important story to tell, and public affairs offices are critical to that task," said Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO) on the House floor this pasts week. "But credibility is paramount. Once lost, it is difficult or impossible to regain.
"PRIVILEGED ACCESS: Day after day, the American public has watched distinguished retired military officers go on television and assess progress in the Iraq war. Many of these analysts, however, were repeating talking points given to them during private briefings by the administration, using this special access "as a marketing and networking opportunity or as a window into future business possibilities." They were all instructed to not "quote their briefers directly or otherwise describe their contacts with the Pentagon." "It was them saying, 'We need to stick our hands up your back and move your mouth for you,'" said Robert S. Bevelacqua, a retired Green Beret and former Fox News analyst. Certainly not all retired military officials have parroted Pentagon talking points. Last year, for example, CBS asked Iraq veteran Gen. John Batiste to step down as a consultant because he appeared in a VoteVets ad criticizing the war. A CBS vice president justified the network's decision by saying of Batiste, "By putting himself front and center in an anti-Bush ad, the viewer might have the feeling everything he says is anti-Bush." The largest contingent of "puppets" was affiliated with Fox News, followed by MSNBC and CNN, although analysts also appeared on CBS and ABC. At least nine of them wrote op-eds for The New York Times. After significant public outcry, the Pentagon announced last week that it would be temporarily suspending the program, pending a review of the situation.
MEDIA BLACKOUT: "[T]he degree of behind-the-scenes manipulation -- including regular briefings by then-defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other officials -- is striking, as is the lack of disclosure by the networks of some of these government and business connections," wrote Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz last week, who also addressed the controversy on CNN. On the whole, however, the media have been disappointingly silent on their role in the Pentagon's scheme since the story broke last week. On Thursday, PBS's News Hour did a lengthy segment on the scandal, but it could not convince the other networks to join in. "And for the record, we invited Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC and NBC to participate," said senior correspondent Judy Woodruff, "but they declined our offer or did not respond." Since The New York Times report, Fox News has repeatedly used quotes from one of the military analysts named in the story, without mentioning his ties to the Pentagon. Several conservatives have also rushed to dismiss the expose. Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Max Boot said simply, "All this is part and parcel of the daily grind of Washington journalism." Neoconservative pundit John Podhoretz added that the revelations showed "nothing more than that the Pentagon treated former military personnel like VIPs.
"PATTERN OF PROPAGANDA: While The New York Times's revelation was galling, it was hardly the first instance of abuse of public information by the Bush administration. In 2005, the Los Angeles Times revealed that the U.S. military was "secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to publish stories written by American troops in an effort to burnish the image of the US mission in Iraq." However, most of those stories were presented as "unbiased news accounts written and reported by independent journalists." Officials said the stories were "basically factual" but would often "present only one side of events and omit information that might reflect poorly on the US or Iraqi governments." Even at this time, conservatives were backing the Bush administration's propaganda. The National Review's Stephen Spruiell said, "We need more operations like this in Iraq, and more respect for their classified nature." Also in 2005, then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Gen. Richard Myers touted poll results of Iraqis that supposedly demonstrated the insurgency was losing political steam, without revealing that the poll surveyed only Iraqis who had actively worked against the insurgents. More recently, in October 2007, it was revealed that the U.S. military was attempting to use funds from the independent military newspaper Stars and Stripes to bolster a PR campaign, which some Pentagon officials described as "tax-payer-funded propaganda."
Passenger trains collide in China
A high-speed passenger train jumped its tracks and hit into another train in China on Monday, killing at least 66 people and injuring hundreds. Authorities blamed human error.
Afghan President Escapes Assassination Attempt
Officials and witnesses say gunfire erupted as the national anthem was ending and guests were about take their seats at the ceremony in central Kabul
Hamas Chief: Cease-Fire a Tactic
Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal said Saturday that the Islamist group’s request for a ceasefire with Israel was “a tactic in conducting the struggle.”
Saudi Activist Blogger Freed After 4 Months in Jail Without Charge
JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia, April 26
Saudi Arabia's most popular blogger was released Saturday after serving four months in prison without charge.
(By Faiza Saleh Ambah, The Washington Post)
Islamic Finance
By Loretta Napoleoni
Islamic activists, intellectuals, writers, and religious leaders have always upheld the prohibition of riba, the interest charged by moneylenders, and denounced gharar, which refers to any type of speculation. Under this belief, money must not become a commodity in itself to create more money.
The Pentagon Strangles Our Economy
Why the U.S. Has Gone Broke
By Chalmers Johnson
Our short tenure as the world's lone superpower has come to an end.
